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Apple Brown Betty

There are cobblers and crisps and grunts and buckles and slumps. And pandowdys (pandowdies?). All different ways to mix fruit with some kind of topping that’s not a crust, then bake it.

All these choices… it’s overwhelming. How to choose the correct way to appreciate the apples that are available? Ontario’s harvest was reduced this year because of early summer-ish weather followed by frost which damaged the blossoms of trees. Fewer local apples means the price for apples has gone up, so I want to make the most of the apples I buy. Which of those fruit dishes to make?

The answer is none of the above. Instead, I’m making a family favourite: Apple Brown Betty. This was a very popular dessert at Toby’s Goodeats, a Toronto restaurant which existed before the current crop of ‘gourmet’ burger joints came onto the scene. While I don’t remember ever having enough room for Apple Brown Betty after eating one of their Strikes It Rich burgers and an order of french fries covered in a blanket of melted cheese, I guess someone in my family did because when the recipe for it was printed in the newspaper, it was clipped and kept. Do not forget the ice cream!

Here’s what to do:
Make the topping.

Flour, brown sugar and butter.

Then make the syrup.

Brown sugar, hot water and lemon juice.

We like them apples.

Apples.

Peel them apples.

Naked apples!

Now slice the apples. To stop the apples from browning, you can toss them with the juice of the other half of the lemon.